As the mist kept falling, Dustin Strand managed to hold on to the lead -- racing on a track that doesn't suit his driving style.
"That was pretty wicked out there," Strand said. "The track was getting slimy and I'm not very good on a track like that."
Regardless, Strand managed to hang on and win Friday night's 18-lap Midwest modifieds feature at River Cities Speedway. It was Strand's 26th feature win of the season and fifth at RCS.
A heavy mist fell in the final laps of the feature, and after Strand was presented his trophy for winning on Gold Cup night, RCS officials called off the remainder of the program.
Double feature for sprints and late models will be run next Friday.
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Strand started fourth but raced his way to the front on the first lap. He opened a comfortable advantage in the first few laps, but the mist at that time wasn't a problem.
The caution flag was waved with 14 laps to go, wiping out Strand's big lead.
Todd Johnson, who was running second, put the pressure on Strand the rest of the way. Strand edged Johnson by less than a car length.
"It wasn't too bad at the beginning of the race," Strand said of the track conditions.
By the end, however, the track was difficult for just about every driver.
"Some guys are good in the mud, I'm not," Strand said.
But there was a bright spot for the modifieds.
For a change, all 18 laps were completed. In the past few weeks, the modifieds have had their features cut short because of too many caution flags.
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"At least the race didn't get cut short," Strand said.
Peterson finished second, followed by Patrick Sobolik, Aaron Olson and Davy Riopelle.
Strand also maintained his second-place ranking in the national WISSOTA season points race.
Strand, who has raced 50 nights so far this season, trails Shane Sabraski of southern Minnesota.
In the streets feature, Jim Geringer has had his share of bad luck this season.
"Five weeks worth," Geringer said.
But Geringer's luck changed. The Harwood, N.D., driver won the 15-lap feature, holding off season points leader Steffen Snare.
Geringer and Snare were nearly side by side in the final eight laps. Snare's best chances to take the lead came in Turn 2. But on each attempt, Geringer had enough to hold off Snare, who won six straight features at RCS this season.
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"I saw (Snare) down there," Geringer said. "I was just hoping nothing would happen."
Joe Potter finished third, followed by Kyle Leake and Tyson Anderson.
Rain and wind were problems all night. RCS officials pushed the program along as fast as they could.
As the first heat race of the night was about to take the green flag, rain began to fall.
The program was delayed for a few minutes. But the program couldn't withstand the second round of rain that fell as the modifieds were wrapping up their feature.
